Trees of Mystery

On Saturday we visited the "Trees of Mystery", a commercial entity, located about 4 miles down the road from us. I had my doubts about the place at first, as there was a huge Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statue (?) out front of the entrance. They looked as if they were made of papier mache and Paul had a silly, automated wave and a recording welcoming visitors to the park. Anyway, upon entrance, we found the obligatory junk store selling trinkets and souvenirs. We paid $11 per person (senior entrance fee...perks of getting older, etc.) to ride a gondola, which was like a ski lift, up to the summit of a large, heavily-timbered hill. I say "hill" because it was 752 feet above sea level, so it looks like a big mountain but really isn't. However it is STEEP. The lifts looked like they were well maintained, at any rate.

We boarded and were fortunate to have a car all to ourselves. It stopped several times during the trip for photo ops but I got a little nervous just knowing how far it was to the ground. When we reached the summit, we could see all the way to the ocean, which you see in the last picture above. The opposite direction is seen in the second picture. As we were viewing the sites, a Mennonite couple was standing near us, and as I heard her speaking, I knew she was from Pennsylvania because she sounded just like my mother-in-law, Chris (Hi, Mom!) We struck up a conversation with them and they were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary that day. Nice folks.

We contemplated taking the steep trail back down but I didn't think my knees could take it, plus I wasn't wearing hiking boots, so we decided to take the gondola back down. Slipping and falling can ruin your whole day.

After we arrived safely on terra firma, we walked around the trails. I just can't stop taking (a) tree pictures and (b) beach pictures. So I took more tree pictures. There were those brown and yellow signs everywhere, such as "Seen in Ripley's Believe It Or Not". The picture looking straight up at the top of the trees was called the Cathedral Trees, coastal redwoods. The picture with several trees growing at even intervals was called the Candelabra Trees, and these trees were growing out of an almost horizontal tree trunk across the trail (we walked under it). I didn't see what kind of tree that was but I don't think it was redwood.

The final section was the cheese-iest...It was a "Paul Bunyan" walk with all kinds of wood carvings and recorded messages depicting the life of Paul Bunyan. I did relent and take one picture, the squirrel you see in the final picture below. I suppose it was done with a chain saw, which is quite a feat, if you ask me.

When we finished the trails, we went back to the gift shop to visit the "End of the Trail" museum, a native American museum. It was interesting and there were displays, all well-taken-care-of, featuring relics from tribes all over the United States. There was also a small museum store but I resisted buying anything. Sometimes I'm just not in the mood to buy! All told, it was a nice place, despite human attempts to exploit nature.

After we got home, we decided we'd just walk down to the beach, not going ON the beach. Well, that changed, and we couldn't resist going back out on the beach to watch the crashing waves again. We got home, tired from another good day of sightseeing.

Yesterday we decided we'd better go to Crescent City, about 20 miles from here, to buy groceries, since on Monday (today) there's supposed to be rain and storms. (Well, today's Monday and there's no storms...yet!) We drove through more beautiful redwoods and it was amazing and so beautiful. However, I didn't take any pictures because like Gary says, there's only so many tree pictures you can take! We went to a restaurant called Wing Wah in CC. I made the mistake of ordering lemon chicken and when it arrived, it was deep fried, covered with a sweet lemon sauce. I ate it anyway, along with an egg roll and fried rice, because I was famished, and because I had to pay for it! When we got home, we walked down to the beach and onto the beach AGAIN, and I still gained half a pound this morning! *sigh* When will I ever learn to ask about the dishes I order in a restaurant.

Tomorrow is "weigh-in day" on my Weight Watchers, so I do hope I can behave myself today and stick to the plan.

We're just doing some laundry today, getting ready for the trip on Wednesday. I really like to get everything done before we take off. We'll be going to Oregon to visit some nice folks, fellow RV'ers, we met in Georgetown, TX. They have a house! I'm looking forward to visiting them.

We'll keep you posted on our adventures, and thanks for reading my blog!

Redwoods

We took off this morning, headed for the Redwoods National Park. We drove down the coastal highway(?), which was more like a narrow little trail with potholes so deep you'd break an axle, should you hit one. One of the first places we stopped was the farmhouse on the left. It is on the coast and it is NOT a farmhouse. During World War II, it was a radar station and was disguised as a farmhouse to prevent the enemy from recognizing it. It's been kept up nicely, I think.

We then headed on down the coast and started to get into the redwoods. The fog was rolling in, and most of the pictures we took at that time didn't turn out too well, due to the fog. However, we continued on exploring and came to the Prairie Creek State Park, another part of the redwoods. The trees you see in the pictures above were all taken there, as the sun had come out brilliantly. We walked around the trails through the trees and almost got a crick in our necks from looking up so much. Most of the pictures I took were STRAIGHT UP! Talk about feeling small! The tallest redwood known is 385 feet tall. The trunks are big, too, as you can see from the picture I took of Gary at the base of one of them. There was a wonderful article in National Geographic about the redwoods, and it said there's a whole 'nother ecosystem up there in the tree tops. Prairie Creek is known also for its elk, although there weren't any in the field where they were SUPPOSED to be. I guess nobody told them where to be today.

We drove down to another area where the elk were known to congregate, but didn't see any. We sat at a picnic table and ate a light lunch, then headed back, still appreciating the sunshine. We drove down to Klamath and went up high on a hill overlooking the mouth of the Klamath River and took some pictures there. Really, we were wanting to see some grey whales but we weren't able to spot any. However, I did see a large dark bird flying which I thought was a hawk, but after locating him in my binoculars, saw that he had a WHITE head and was carrying something in his claws. I believe it was a bald eagle. I wish I could have gotten a picture of him, but he was flying very fast and went out of view after just a glimpse.

We decided that we hadn't walked enough today, so we drove back down past the RV park to the beach where we went yesterday. Well, what a difference a day makes. The wind was still chilly but blowing at much less velocity than yesterday. Gary, artistic Gary, took the picture of the driftwood and the small sand dunes on the beach. We took many more pictures of the surf and found the waves to be every bit as big as they were yesterday. We looked for rocks and picked up quite a few, but really didn't have the foggiest idea what we were looking for. Gary would almost get caught in the sea foam and several times he did get his pants legs and shoes wet. We ran like little kids from the ever-encroaching water sneaking up the beach toward us.

So, we finally made it back home and then had to edit our photos and organize them. Thank heaven for digital photography! So convenient.

We're still reeling from the beauty and huge-ness of the redwoods. So amazing. We'll go out and explore some more tomorrow.

We left day before yesterday morning, heading north toward Oregon, following Highway 101. I cannot begin to tell you how beautiful the drive was. I have heard of the Redwoods all my life, but never dreamed how tall, graceful and majestic they are. We drove through several groves where the road narrowed to two lanes, and in many cases, the big redwoods were almost at the edge of the highway. The road was very curvy and all you could see when going around a curve was another huge trunk. I also didn't take too many pictures through the front window because it rained on us almost the whole trip and I didn't want to get raindrops in the picture! The trees were so big and tall, I would have needed a wide angle lens to capture the whole tree. I'll take pictures of them later, because we're at the edge of Redwoods National Park. On the other side of us is the Klamath River, and we are also on the Yurok Indian Reservation.

By the time we arrived here yesterday, we had seen several signs advertising "drive through trees". We learned that yes, indeed, you can drive through them...for a fee! So we didn't bite. I think those are the Sequoias. Anyway, we got here yesterday and Gary graciously set up the satellite dish, despite having slower-than-dialup wifi here at Kamp Klamath. So now I can upload photos to my blog and facebook.

We're about a mile from the beach, so we put on our hiking boots and walked down the road to the beach. It is a beautiful, cloudless day here, but by the time we got to the beach area, the wind had picked up into what I'd call a gale. The beach is at the mouth of the Klamath River, and we could hear the roar of the surf. We continued walking until we reached the summit of the small peninsula which separated a fresh water lagoon from the ocean.

What huge waves! The wind, like I said, was strong and cold, and several times I thought it was going to blow me over. We took many pictures of the big breakers and I was a little nervous that the tide might be coming in. I didn't want to turn my back on the ocean very long, because the waves were roaring and unpredictable. We finally arrived at a group of rocks up the beach and got into a little shelter from the wind, snapping pictures all along the way. It was funny because sometimes we'd get between the rocks and it would be like a wind tunnel.

We started back, and thought the haze we saw was sea spray. No, not exactly. It was beach sand picked up by the strong wind, and we had to walk a little closer to the water to try to get out of the blowing sand. I was getting even more nervous about being close to the water. After leaning into the wind and struggling to walk, we finally were able to get back to the big rock where we entered the beach, and walked back up to the road. I had to laugh, thinking of how we were laying on the beach on a blanket at Manhattan Beach with my son and his wife, listening to the surf. We surely wouldn't be doing that here!

We began the trek back, and unfortunately, I didn't have my wide angle lens on the camera, so I couldn't give a perspective on the tall trees in the forest beside the road. There were many fallen trees which were covered by moss and a myriad of ferns growing all along the road. We saw many plants which resembled Mayapples, and still don't know what they were. I was a little apprehensive and kept watching for bears! We finally arrived back at the RV and had some lunch, tired but happy that we'd actually been that close to the pounding surf...and survived! Believe it or not, the wind is now light. I suppose it's always windy next to the water up here. Oh, and I've got some beach sand to clean out of my camera!

Well, that's about it for today. Tomorrow we'll go hiking in the national park and hopefully get some good pictures.

Marin Headlands, CA

Today the weather was not as cooperative as the day we went to San Francisco, but at least we had a few miles visibility. We drove about 30 miles south to the Marin Headlands, where I used to live almost 30 years ago. The area, at that time, was owned by the U. S. Army, and had military housing on three forts in the area. There is a one-way tunnel off Highway 101 which goes under a large hill into the area. It has a five-minute red light so it can be used both ways. Under the base closure acts back in the late 80's, the three areas, along with the Presidio in San Francisco, were closed. The National Park Service has taken over the area. The housing is now used for employees of NPS, the youth hostel, and other government workers in the area. I was surprised at how the area had been "let go". The grass and weeds were growing and the whole area was run down. We stopped in at the visitors center, a former Army chapel across the way from the house where I lived.

I was amazed at how little I remembered about how to get around in the area. I guess you forget a lot of things in 27 years! We went up on the high hill to take some pictures of Rodeo Beach and the Point Bonita lighthouse. In the fourth picture, you can see the lighthouse which warns ships entering San Francisco Bay. We tried to go all the way up the "mountain", but the road was closed. We stopped and took some pictures of the Golden Gate and then headed down to Sausalito. By that time, the traffic was building and there were tourists everywhere. Sausalito was almost bumper to bumper, so we just drove through. There are many houses on the hills in Sausalito, overlooking the bay. And they are VERY expensive, I might add!

We drove on through Sausalito and made the mistake of trying to go to a Super Walmart over in American Canyon, about 30 miles away. It's the only one anywhere near here. There were creepy-looking people everywhere, and I was uncomfortable there. Frustration! Gary couldn't get his prescription filled for 2 hours, so we decided to just let them put the prescription in the computer there and we'd pick it up at another Walmart (not Super) about 10 miles north of here tomorrow.

We decided we'd drive back through Napa Valley, and saw lots of vineyards and farms. On the way, we were passed by a couple of CHP cars going Code 3, sirens blaring and lights flashing. We turned on a little road heading for Petaluma. Big mistake. There's where the accident was, so we had to sit in a line of cars waiting to get through. That was OK, though, because the scenery was beautiful and there was a nice cool breeze blowing. Some poor soul on a motorcycle collided with a car. We never saw an ambulance, but I'm sure it would have come from Novato, which was on the other side of the accident from us.

We finally got home about 5 pm, tired from doing...nothing!

Oh, let me tell you about the flowers. You know I love taking pictures of flowers. The pink ones grow on ice plants, which is a succulent that grows on the beach and all over the place out here. Some of the ice plants bloom red or yellow. However, these yellow flowers are California poppy, and I believe that's their state flower.

We're may go to a wine tasting tomorrow, but since I'm on weight watchers, I hate to take in empty calories, so there's really not much point in going to a wine tasting when I know I won't be buying any.

I'm looking forward to leaving on Tuesday. We are headed toward the Redwoods in Northern CA, and will be there for a week. There's a storm forecast to come through on Tuesday, so we may be driving in the rain.

Until next time...thanks for reading my blog! More later!

Wonderful Time in San Francisco!

We decided to take the bus to San Francisco, because parking is at a premium in SF, and it costs $6 for a car just to cross the Golden Gate Bridge. The bus cost us $8.40 each, one way, to ride.
Nevertheless, it was great to just sit back and let someone else worry about the traffic. We dressed warmy, knowing that it can be very chilly in SF at times. Not to worry...the weather was fabulous with a light cool breeze and warm sun.

We got off the bus on Mission Street. There were beggars, street performers, and just plain weird looking people wandering around. Our plan was to take the cable car to Fishermans Wharf. We bought a $13 day pass so we could ride any bus or cable car in the city. There were long lines waiting for the cable cars, but we finally got on one, packed on with many other folks. We didn't hang on the side; I thought that was pretty scary. The cable cars pass dangerously close to trucks, other cable cars, etc., and the stops and starts can be pretty jerky.
We arrived at Fishermans Wharf and went through the Maritime Museum. That area is now a National Park. We toured the Balclutha, a ship which was built in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1889. It was huge. Reading about the problems incurred by sailors back then, it's a wonder that any ship ever made it to port. That's Gary you see in the lower right corner with his trusty Nikon.

Of course, the second picture is Alcatraz.

By this time, it was noon, and we ate at Alioto's, on the recommendation of a friendly bystander. They had a large menu and the food was reasonably priced. I splurged and had fried shrimp, french fries, and sourdough bread. I also paid the price for it, gaining one pound this morning, despite all the walking we did yesterday. Rats, I just can't cheat at all!

After visiting every place we wanted there, and buying a couple of tee shirts, we took off walking to catch another cable car. This one was even more crowded than the other. We got off at Lombard Street, intending to walk up the supposed "crookedest street in the world". Actually, it's not. After we got off the cable car, I looked up and saw one of the steepest hills I'd ever seen ahead of us. We trudged up the hill, about 3 blocks, to the end of the switchbacks. We decided to just take pictures of it, and went back down the hill and caught another cable car. The last picture you see was taken on the way down. It is Coit Tower, a famous landmark in San Francisco. We only saw it from a distance, and by that time, we were beat and wanting to catch our bus back to our home base.

Traffic on the 101 was not bad, with a few stop-and-go areas, but we decided it wasn't as bad as Austin traffic on I-35. We got back to Petaluma at 5 pm, happy to survive riding the bus and knowing when to request a stop!

Today we're going to drive down the 101 to Sausalito, where I lived in the early 80's. I should have some majestic pictures of SF and the Golden Gate Bridge tomorrow!

Wonderful Time in LA

We're getting ready to leave LA tomorrow, heading north toward San Francisco Bay area. We've had a great time here, despite getting our first little boo-boo on the motor home. Friday we took the Sony Pictures tour, since my son works for Imageworks, a division of Sony Pictures. We didn't see one single celebrity, but in all fairness, it was Friday afternoon and I'm sure they like to take off just like everyone else. I was surprised to see how much set-building goes on, and how drab and unattractive the places are where the filming occurs. They're just like big warehouses, and sets and backdrops are manufactured and painted right there on the lot. The picture directly to your left used to be the main entrance to the studio, back when it was Columbia Pictures. The tour guide told us that it was the main entrance to the lot until, it was RUMORED, Joan Crawford's big car got scraped by one of the gates, so it was closed off and another entrance built. Interesting story and maybe true. We saw the house on the lot where she stayed when they were filming one of her pictures, and it is still called the "Joan Crawford House". It was a pretty little bungalow. Next to it was a drab two story apartment building, and that was where the lesser stars stayed, such as Clark Gable, etc. She must have had some kind of power over people back then, but personally I find her disgusting. Maybe it's because I've seen 'Mommie Dearest' and my kids sometimes call me that. LOL. The other pictures were taken on the lot and they're just like walking down main street. I'm sure they film there, too. A lot of the plants you see in the movies are fake, but there are some real plants, and they have people to take care of them, too.

When the tour was over, we had some time to kill before Matt and Alexis got home from work. We stopped at the LA Air Force Base which is pretty close to LA International Airport. There was a commissary and PX there.

When we left there, we drove on down to Manhattan Beach to Matt and Alexis' place. We went to a Cuban restaurant called Versailles (Yes, just like the French word). The food was outrageously delicious and inexpensive (for LA). I could have easily eaten twice the amount I had but I'm still on weight watchers and trying to stop pigging out.

The next day dawned gray and cloudy, and fog and clouds were forecast all day. We went down to the beach and walked up and down the beach. I couldn't believe how smooth the sand felt. As you can see, I let the surf get a little to close to me, and got my pants legs wet! It looks cold but really wasn't bad. We went down to the pier, which had a restaurant and aquarium (free entrance but donation requested). Saw some interesting fish, then headed back for a lovely lunch of quesadillas made with soy chorizo. Now before you go YECH! let me tell you that it tasted just like chorizo, which is a VERY greasy Mexican sausage. Alexis and Matt are genius cooks! So we had a nice light lunch.

Now for my favorite part...after lunch, the sun came out. We grabbed blankets, sunglasses, sunscreen, etc., and went down to the beach. All four of us just laid down and listened to the surf. The sun and the sand were warm but there was a cool breeze blowing. It was so peaceful and relaxing that I almost went to sleep. Every once in a while, we'd sit up to look at the beautiful waves breaking. There were a few surfers out. Matt didn't get in the water. Gary took the picture of Matt contemplating the surf, and it's one of my favorite pictures of him. The first picture is, of course, me, Matt, and Alexis. I will never forget the peace and quiet just laying there enjoying the sound of the waves. Until a couple of "valley girls" came by yakking. I'm dating myself, aren't I? Remember Valley Girls? They still talk like that.

For dinner, Matt grilled some fabulous pork tenderloins that Alexis had marinated. We also had poblano peppers stuffed with mozzarella cheese and adobo sauce. Alexis and I chopped vegetables for some fresh pico de gallo. I think we could have opened our own restaurant! The tenderloin just melted in your mouth. It was SO GOOD! They also had some corn, from a can, called "Summer Crisp" which was the best canned corn I've ever had. Like I said, they are genius cooks!

We reluctantly left on Saturday night but had to realize that Matt and Alexis both work, so they needed a little time to unwind and relax and not have to worry about entertaining someone. Sunday was my birthday, and we went to see my friend Kathy and her husband, Jerry. They graciously took us out for dinner and what a great meal I had! I don't like fish but we went to a fish place and I had blackened tilapia. Was it ever good! Not fishy at all. I figured I'd gained about 3 lbs. at least, but this morning when I got up, I was down another pound! Yessssss! I got some summer clothes out this morning, and most of them still fit me, although I can tell they're getting looser and I'm not "melted and poured" into some of them like I was before.

So tomorrow's the big day we take off out of here. We'll be headed up toward San Francisco and hopefully have more pictures and more on our adventures!

Huntington Beach, CA

To those of you who are on Facebook, I apologize; I also put most of these pictures there.

We went down to Huntington Beach a couple of days ago and walked for a while. It was such a pretty day; the wind was cold but the sun was warm. We managed to get a few pictures without people, but there were quite a few folks on the beach. The first beach we came to was called "Dog Beach". We thought perhaps it was named this because of some ?rock? formations, but soon realized the beach was for people with dogs! We came to an area with a sign that said "No Dogs Beyond This Point". And sure enough, there weren't any "illegal" dogs. We were going to try to go to Huntington Beach Pier, but couldn't find a parking place and weren't inclined to spend any more $$ on parking meters. I have a fascination with watching the waves come in, as you can tell from the pictures. I can never seem to capture the majesty of what I actually see with the camera's eye. Maybe I need to learn to paint!

We stopped at a place on Pacific Coast Highway called Don the Beachcomber's. It is a Tiki Bar and restaurant. The owner had several other bars, including one in Hollywood. Back in the olden days, a wealthy patron had been drinking at the bar and left. He killed someone on the way home. The patron...Howard Hughes. Anyway, there's lots of legends about the owner, but I was unable to confirm what I had read on a poster in the bar. I can't be sure of its veracity, so I won't include it here.

Into every life...a little rain must fall. Yesterday we were walking along the track that goes around the RV park here on Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station. I twisted my ankle on one of the potholes on the track. Ouch! It's not the worst I've ever had, but it's enough to keep me from exercising. Maybe we'll go to the gym and do something there, although Gary hates gyms. Can't figure out why.

Hope you are having a good day and don't step in any potholes!

More later.

Hollywood

Today we went to Hollywood, a place I never expected to visit. Although we got there before noon, it was crowded with lots of tourists, strange looking characters, bums, and creepy people. One guy kind of sauntered along with us, and when we'd stop to take a picture, he'd stop, too. We ducked into a souvenir shop, and he came in but didn't stay around long. Thankfully he went elsewhere.

There were people everywhere trying to get us to buy tickets to Hollywood homes tours. We read on the internet that these were a ripoff, since most stars choose to live far, far away from Hollywood. Can't really blame them. We parked in a parking garage that was below the Kodak Theater, where the Academy Awards are held.

We saw Graumann's Chinese Theater, and the "walk of stars", and there wasn't much to either. Just some big concrete slabs with hand and foot prints and messages to the owner of Grauman's theater from the old timers, like Bette Davis or Bogie. Bogie wrote, "Sid, may you live until I kill you." Or something to that effect. We came home after wandering about for about an hour and a half, finding the freeways becoming increasingly crowded.

Of course, you can tell that I enjoy fiddling with the computer. We were sitting here, watching TV and relaxing a while, when suddenly the motor home began to shake. After making a quick mental note that I was not using the washing machine, I realized we were having an earthquake. The shaking was pretty strong and lasted about 10-15 seconds. When it was over, the MH seemed to sway gently for a while. We then heard on TV that we'd had a 6.9 magnitude earthquake, and later heard that the epicenter was down in Baja and was actually a 7.2 magnitude. We haven't noticed any aftershocks, but we went out and did about an hour's walk, so we may not have felt them. I don't know if there's any damage in Mexico; I hope not. I suppose it was a pretty strong one, about the same as the one in Haiti, which was 7.0.

Oh, back to the pictures...I took the one of the modernistic tower from the car and have no earthly idea what it is.

Well, that's about it for now...more later! We hope to go to Huntington Beach tomorrow, and explore Seal Beach a little more.

Follow-up

We're having a good time, despite some aggravation and a new boo-boo on our motor home. Suffice it to say, a 4-foot-tall post did us in. I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later.
We had a wonderful time last night with my friend Kathy and her husband, Jerry. Had some fantastic steaks cooked on our new Weber Q grill. We got tired of throwing away the little cheapo gas grills every two years, so got this one and did it ever do a great job.
Yesterday, we DID see the sign at the front gate that said "No Weapons allowed on this facility". Kathy's husband ( a DOD civilian) explained to us what kind of facility we are on, and I don't blame them a bit for their strict policy, after hearing that. I won't go into detail but I'm really glad we could take the weapons over to Kathy's house to be stored until we leave.
We are planning on going to see Hollywood today, simply because the freeways should have little traffic on them. I wish we could have gone to church service, but it just didn't happen. Hopefully I will have some pictures later today to put on the blog.
Happy Easter, everyone!

Seal Beach, CA

We left Quartzsite on April 1 and were glad to say goodbye to windy, dusty Arizona. The day turned out to be beautiful, and the storm we were worried about never materialized. It all went to the south of us, and we hardly had any wind to blow us around. We felt a little shaky about driving in Los Angeles with a 40 foot motorhome and car behind. Not to worry, because we timed it just right, and we sailed through the freeways to our destination. Gary commented that the traffic (at that time!) was not as bad as Austin traffic. The mountains you see in these pictures are in Southern California, and they had fresh snowfall from the recent storm. There's a ski resort up there somewhere.

Seal Beach Naval Weapons Facility is located right on the beach, and Navy ships dock right on the facility. We saw a huge one yesterday when we left. Why no pictures of the base, you ask? Well, there's a prohibition against taking pictures on base unless you have special permission. We tried to get permission to just take a picture of our campsite, but conveniently the person we asked couldn't find anyone to authorize us to take a picture.

Well, that's not the worst. We have carried a shotgun since we started full-timing, and also Gary has a couple of other guns. We were told, when we checked in, that if we had weapons, we should notify security and register them. OK, no problem, right? WRONG. After kicking it around, we decided that the right, honest thing to do would be to take our weapons to security to get them registered and stored in the vault. BIG MISTAKE. They had a hemorrhage, s**t hissy and told Gary he had to leave the facility immediately, and that we should never have been allowed onto this facility with weapons. Gary told them what the people at the rv check-in office had said, and that nobody at the front gate mentioned weapons. They claim there is a sign by the front gate that says no weapons are allowed on base. We've yet to see the sign, but we're going to look again.

We had no idea where we were going to go, and I was starting to pack things up, when I remembered that I have a friend here whom I've known for years. We were planning on visiting her anyway. I called her and asked her if we could store our guns at her house, and she said yes, that would be OK.

Well, back to my story. They ESCORTED Gary, in our car, off base, across the 4 lane highway, to a parking lot across from the gate. He had to leave our car there and walk back over. They didn't even offer him a ride back on base. We got ready and walked out to the car, then went shopping for several hours until my friend got home, and then we visited with her and left the "weapons" there.

Now I have no quarrel with them not allowing weapons on post, remembering the awful thing that happened at Ft. Hood. However, they could be up front with their policy. Plus, you can't tell me that all these old retirees around here in their RV's are not carrying weapons. We were just stupid enough to be honest. Well, that won't happen again. We'll be very careful next time.

This is the land of palm trees and exotic plants. There's so many beautiful sights to see. Last night, we drove over to Manhattan Beach to visit with my son, Matt, and his wife Alexis. Their house is about 250 yards up a hill from the beach, and you can see the Pacific from their front windows. It was so beautiful to see the waves coming in. The beach picture is taken from their front drive. I didn't see the electric line running almost parallel to the ocean when I took the picture. Do you notice how the ocean seems to look like a hill out there? It's really noticeable when you view it in person.

We walked about 9 short blocks to a restaurant called Mama D's, Italian, of course, where I completely blew my weight watchers points. Despite my indulgence, I had still lost a pound this morning. Of course, I really didn't eat much of anything else yesterday.

We're really looking forward to next weekend, when we'll go spend a day or two with Matt and Alexis and enjoy the beach and the ocean some more.

I'll write more later with more pictures, and hopefully we won't be in the brig or kicked out of this place!